Organised by Urban Brussels, archiweek opens up the doors to contemporary architecture in the Brussels Region.
At WIELS, free guided tours for everyone in the Blomme building are being organised on the weekend of 12 and 13 October 2024.
WIELS Bookshop, 2024. Photo © Alexandra Bertels
The eye-catching bookshop and café bring new life to the entrance hall of WIELS, the Brussels centre for contemporary art, located in Forest. WIELS opened its doors over 15 years ago in the former Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery, a 1930s design by Adrien Blomme. The building, also called Blomme or Wielemans Tower, is one of the last modernist industrial buildings in Belgium. The remains of the brewery within WIELS have now become national heritage. During the renovation in 2005-2008, several parts were restored identically, providing an authentic experience when visiting. The brewing hall, with its brewing vessels, tiling, lighting fixtures and the exceptional strip windows on the floors, are examples of the remarkable and unique character of this modernist building.
The building has three exhibition rooms and a cinema/auditorium. The entrance hall houses the book and ticket shop and the café-restaurant. These colourful metal interventions in the entrance hall were designed by Piovene Fabi and executed in 2023 with wrought-iron assemblies by Denis Romainville & Eutectic (Pierre Eyben), with a workshop on nearby Rue Paapsem. These objects are flexible, making them future-proof for a changing layout of the entrance hall.
The tour on Sunday 13.10.2024 at 11am will be given by the architect and craftsman (FR).
SATURDAY
12.10.2024____13:00_13:45 (FR)
12.10.2024____15:00_15:45 (NL)
12.10.2024____17:00_17:45 (EN)
SUNDAY
13.10.2024____11:00_11:45 (FR)
13.10.2024____13:00_13:45 (FR)
13.10.2024____15:00_15:45 (NL)
13.10.2024____17:00_17:45 (EN)